The Smiley Smile Message Board

This may have been asked before, but I feel like I'm kinda missing something here.

I've seen quite a few posts ragging on or making jokes about Melinda. How come? I don't really know why, maybe I just don't know enough about her, but I've been wondering what the reason is for all of the jokes, lol.

Good question.  I think Melinda (and her true role in BW's life) still remains a mystery to most BB/BW fans.  Melinda?  Maybe.  The woman who has kept Brian on the path he's followed since his return to touring?  Probably, in my opinion. 

This is not a question with a 'black and white' answer.  Some think that, along with David Leaf, she is the reason a 2011 (50th anniversary) will never happen.  Internal politics.  Mike Love is the Devil.  All of that. 

I've met Melinda twice.  Both times she was very personable and friendly.  That means nothing at all to your question.  Ultimately, I think she has nothing but the best intentions for Brian.  But some fans feel she has overstepped her bounds.  Has she?  I can't answer that.  I can only tell you that there will always be derisiveness concerning Melinda Wilson on the internet. 

Again, it's not a black or white issue.    Hope this clarifies things a little for you.

Agree that little is known but on the couple of occasions I've met her very briefly she's been sweet and seems very genuine about her commitment to BW.

Remember she's his wife and mother to his adopted kids ... it's very hard to tell the extent of her involvement in his business/professional management. I'd love to know more... maybe some of the questionable management & marketing things that have happened in recent years are symptoms of well-meant inexperience?

Whatever I'm darned sure that without Melinda BW wouldn't be o the road and recording so much "new"/old material as he is.

I'm sure AGD could tell us a lot more, if it doesn't involve indiscretions....

Melinda and Leaf are devils.  Everyone spoke highly of the Lovester until these two evil fucks came along.  Look through all the literature on the BB in the 60s; look through all the literature on Dennis. Nothing.  Everyone loves the Lovester. If it wasn't for Melinda and Leaf (and that equally evil money-grubbing dissenter Al Jardine) we'd have The Beach Boys again.  Well, okay, Carl and Dennis are no longer with us, but you know what I mean. Of course, she can't run a tour and BW doesn't seem to have the last say about what he does... Maybe they mean that?

I do worry that Brian is pressured into touring and performing when perhaps he'd just prefer to be in the studio making music, but who knows, I guess you can never really know what goes on behind the scenes. Saying that, I am still going to see him on 3rd Sept, can't wait, hypocrite that I am!

Mike? Dr. Love? Is that you?    :lol

We came pretty dang close w/ Still A Mystery and Soul Searchin', but that fell apart for other reasons besides Melinda and Al. Those 2 songs are so good that it is criminal that they were never properly finished and released...then Carl died, and well- no more Beach Boys.

Combined are they Lucifer himself, or are they just his demonic angels? 

Seriously, Mike Love was being called out for things in the press by Dennis well before Melinda was around, and do you really think that he said about MIU, "That album is an embarressment, and should foda up Mike Love's karma forever," because of Leaf, or because he thought the albums sucked?

I recall an interview with Melinda...audio or print I can't recall....where she discussed her advice/input to Brian on his career.  It was something to the effect of ;  "Brian, if your going to have a career, you can't do a studio album once every 10 years and then retreat.  You have to get out there and promote  and do interviews and tour."  Sounded like a wife givng her husband some strong wifely advice.    ;)  I suspect Brian is the kind of guy who needs a firm hand. 
Now, the question is, does Brian need to tour quite as much as he does?

It's a good thing the Beach Boys had your positivity to outweigh all that melancholy over the years Dr. Love. Not to mention your inclusion of John Stamos time and time again.   :lol :lol

he wrote that good vibrations part you know, the part that copies the bass line and goes "i'm thinking of good vibrations"

That's my dilemma - I do believe Brian wants/needs someone to guide and organise him and his life to an extent, but as you say, it's whether he's doing all the touring to keep other people happy or because it's what he really wants to. When I saw the Brian Wilson on Tour DVD with footage from around 2000, it struck me how much fun he seemed to be having and how engaged he was - he was even dancing! He doesn't seem to be having so much fun now, I know he's older, but still... I just hope he feels ok about touring.

The BRIAN WILSON ON TOUR DVD was edited to show Brian at his most enthusiastic; it would not be representative of his overall behavior/attitude during that time period.

It's been pointed out a number of times, but Brian won't really go along with something he is dead-set against. I'm sure there are still aspects of touring he enjoys, but ultimately he is just doing his job, a job he knows will keep him active. Like for any of us, a job can become a drudgery, but it's something we stick with because it keeps us busy and keeps money coming in. In Brian's case, the money is not so much an issue, but keeping busy is. Unlike most other performers (who will fib about how life on the road is always fantastic), Brian has been vocal about what a drag it can be. That doesn't mean he is being forced against his will to perform. When you go to see him in concert, he's doing his job for you; sometimes, nothing more. I've seen him "do his job" as a solo artist seven times now and thought he put forth a decent effort each time. Your job as an audience member is to enjoy the performance as much as you can.

To raise a new question... How much does Brian enjoy touring, playing the jams, and receiving incredible(?) audience feedback from some of the most loyal fans on the planet?

One thing I think is pretty common knowledge - he hates the meet & greets.

This post cracked me up. I assume it was meant as humor because its so far from reality. Mike started getting bad press in 1966/67, especially due to his banter in-between songs at concerts, and because of the nasal quality of his voice. By 76/77 he was getting nailed for much more than that. This stuff is all on the record and easy to access if you really want to know the truth. There were also plenty of positive things written about him through those years...but Mike was clearly the Beach Boy who had the most negative press long before David Leaf came along. I'm not a David Leaf fan, nor a Melinda fan...but your post was either great humor, or bad history, or maybe a satirical hybrid which blew my mind.

Thats because he hasn't meeted and greeted me yet... ::)

Well... let me phrase it this way - I'm currently requested not to post on the Bloo, partly because I was needlessly profane towards an admittedly antagonistic poster (who some think was a plant designed purely to wind me up - entirely successful, I have to say), but also partly because I was stating some unpalatable (to the management) truths concerning some of Brian's songs (i.e. the best track on the 2005 Xmas album was recorded nine years previously in collaboration with Joe Thomas... and Scott, not Brian, wrote the intro/outro to "Midnight"). I've heard much about Melinda, good and bad, from many reliable sources. I've drawn my own conclusions from various managemental decisions 1998-2009. I've met her several time, when she's been variously charming, aloof and icy. Managing Brian Wilson is a thankless and almost impossible task: that said, some of the decisions made by his people these last ten years seem hugely questionable.

Yeah, who's the brains behind those, I won't point the finger at Melinda but I sure hope she's not.

I don't hate Melinda, but I hope she puts Brian's will first and not the moolah, I still wish he stuck with Marilyn though.

Was she any better though?

"This post cracked me up."

Thank God.  I was beginning to think some people believed it!   :)

Apples and cherries. Marilyn did the best she could under circumstances that no one her age should have been dealing with in the first place. She was barely in her 30's when she and Brian finally split. Which meant that when Brian was hanging with the Vosse Posse, she was literally still a kid trying to deal with her husband's undiagnosed mental illness, his alarming drug use AND possibly losing her husband's attention and infuence.  By the time they split, she had had a decade and a half of dealing with those isues. I don't blame Marilyn at all for making that decision.

This, good sir, is an impossibility. There is no such thing as needless profanity, which is in and of its someofabitching self, fucktacularly splendid.

OK... gratuitously profane, then.

I spell "gratuitously" e-n-j-o-y-a-b-l-y. And spellcheck lets it fly.

Yeah, that makes sense and I definitely hope you're right and that is the case. I saw him last year and I'm going to see him  again in a month's time and I know I'll love it and have a great time, I'm really looking forward to it!  I just like to know that he's happy and ok (as happy and ok as he can be)!

I doubt Brian is happy 70% of the time on stage, the watch checking is a sure sign of that.

I do feel that a little bit of the time he's digging it

Who really calls the shots?  Does Brian have a manager or is he a figurehead?

Andrew which song on the Xmas album was recorded in 1996?

Jon is right that Mike Love got bad press before 1978, some of it deserved,  but Leaf was the most damaging. First nobody had gone so far with the anti-Beach Boys or Mike Love thing before. Second until the mid nineties most seemed to buy into the Leaf theories.  Once the extent of his songwriting in the early days was revealed things Mike and the others got reevaluated. Leaf had once even said that Mike was a bad choice to write with Brian because they never had done much in the first place. We know that is completely false and so did Leaf. Brian said numerous times that he wrote with Mike extensively.

Even Dennis in his radio interviews said that the whole band was in awe of Brian even when coaxed to say otherwise. I think both in the Fornatelle and the "haircut" interviews this is brought up.  He once said Mike was a lyric man so it may have taken him slightly longer to understand the musical changes. He didn't say this with anything but understanding. Honestly don't you think Dennis would have made Mike look bad if Leaf's views were actually true?

I know nothing about the inner workings of Brian's management. Never met Melinda. Saw Brian three times in concert (2002/2004). So that makes me either an ignoramus, or someone who can speak out naïvely, or both.

I'd say Brian 'needs' some prodding. He has, like many depressed persons, a strong tendency to retreat, to be passive. That is the start of a vicious circle, because precisely the brain areas involved in depression 'go with the flow', i.e. become less active and begin to show less functional connections under the microscope. Which increases the feelings of being depressed. Which makes the tendency to retreat even more grave. And so on. The only ways to counteract these developments, apart from medication, are activity, and an enriched environment, that is: an environment with new stimulating things in it. Touring offers these opportunities to combat depression.

But: like others here, I really wondered a couple of times about BW's tour schedules, the venues he played, and especially his all too quick returns to cities he visited just before. Now, of course I want every fan to be able to see him. But is it really necessary to do a greatest hits show in a town where one was not too long ago, with SMiLE in its entirety and a truckload of greatest hits before and after the presentation of that album?

I believe he's referring to "Joy to the World."  Feel free to correct me if I'm wrong AGD.

Brian doesn't like to do meet & greets or interviews, and obviously he's not very good at doing these things either. Wouldn't it have been much better (for him personally but certainly also for his image) if they just never had made him do anything like that?

Imagine how it would be if Brian would never have done any interviews or meet & greets since the late 60s... That ever since 1967, he would just get on stage every once in a while, do his thing, leave and not talk to anyone he doesn't want to talk to. Ever. I'm sure he'd be much happier. And combined with his background and his story, that would've given him the coolest, most mysterious image of anyone in pop music. He'd be almost mythical. And not some goofy old guy who dozes off in front of interviewers.

Yes:

10/97   UAV Entertainment
  18832   Christmas Spirit (various)
   includes "Joy To The World" [BW]

Agreed x 1000.

I wouldn't be so sure about the watch checking thing.  It could be a nervous habit.  Or he may simply want to know what time it is.  It's not like the time dictates when he gets to leave the stage, anyway.  He plays through all of the tunes that are on his set list, regardless of what time it is.  If he was having a bad time on stage, he'd be checking his set list to see how many songs were left...'Man, I just have to do Barbara Ann, Fun Fun Fun, and Love and Mercy, and then I can split!!' 

Oh, and Billy C., your avatar is hilarious.

Not so sure about that. Back when I was an extremely casual BBs fan, I was under the impression that Brian had gone to bed in 1967 and then emerged and was completely incoherent. It wasn't until I saw the interviews with him in the IJWMFTT doc that I realized that he can think for himself and can be quite coherent at times. Does that mean he should do tons of interviews? Probably not. But keeping him under wraps might not be such a good idea either, from the perspective of the general public.

About Melinda, I think it's much more complicated than, "Is she a good person or a bad person?" It's quite possible that she loves Brian and wants what's best for him and feels that he needs to be prodded, or he'll just be a lump. She has referred to the enthusiastic audiences, and the way Brian needs that approval to keep him going. It's very easy for Marilyn to sit there and say, "Let him do what he wants," but that approach hasn't really worked in the past, and she hasn't lived with Brian in decades. Melinda could be wrong, but that doesn't mean her heart isn't in the right place. The need to keep Brian going is probably what goes into the decision to keep him touring, because as has been pointed out, the tours don't make money. As far as the bad decision making goes, Melinda is probably just not a good business person. But that doesn't translate into "evil" or "manipulative." Even if she was friends with David Leaf, it's quite possible that she fell for his line of argument just as so many fans did. If she loves Brian, it would be quite easy for her to believe that her husband is the good guy and Mike Love is a bad guy who can hurt her husband.

I've only seen Brian once, that was from the 4th row of  a SMiLE tour concert. Can't draw many conclusions from that but he gave a great performance, clearly enjoyed himself and whenever I pointed my (large) camera at him he grinned and/or waved at me. That suggests a man at ease, and who scans his audience and who is aware of their reactions to the music...ie someone *involved*...and not merely going through the motions.

However you must remember that Brian suffers from depression. Even when treated, depression is a cruel illness which can leave the sufferrer unable to function in their home and work life without 'prodding' from a therapist or loved one. I do suspect that Melinda sometimes has to coax her husband into doing his thing. But we also know that if Brian's mind is really set against something, then nobody can make him do it. Touring may be an activity that he sometimes enjoys and probably on some days (especially when he's having a bad day or having those auditory hallucinations) he'd rather be tucked up in bed.

AGD would probably be the best source on this board, and he's clearly incurred a little wrath from Brian's camp for telling it like it is. Brian's people do sometimes seem to feel that any criticism, however constructive, is not to be tolerated.

My best guess is that Melinda does push Brian, because he has depression and anyone who's ever known a clinically depressed person knows they need pushing from time to time.

No correction needed.  :)

LOL...oddly enough, I just changed it recently from one that actually spoofed the whole "Brian checked his watch" thing.


Not necessarily. He'll do it, but half-ass it.

True, but the seven times I've seen him live since '99 I did not feel that he "half-assed" his performances. Therefore I believe he's not totally against doing the tour thing.

However, when I saw him in '78 with the Beach Boys and, five songs in, he walked off the stage in the middle of his own lead vocal and didn't return, well...that was truly "half-assed"!

Thanks for the replies, everyone!


I agree with this. It seems like she has good intentions, but maybe it just comes across as overbearing because of how often he's been touring.

The touring discussion is also an interesting one. I really want to see Brian in concert one day, and hopefully I'll be able to catch one before the end of the year. But I don't want to go to a concert where he isn't having a good time. From videos that I've seen on YouTube and everything, he looks a little bored, to be honest. Not that I would be disappointed, because I'm sure a Brian Wilson concert is an amazing experience, but I'd want him to be doing it for all of us, not because he feels like he HAS to.

But then again, I think he's always sort of been that way, right? I know being in front of a bunch of people isn't exactly "his thing."

In his post above Absinthe Boy describes Brian as..."a man at ease"...whoa, that's gotta be a first.

Oh yeah, no doubt. I mean, he f*cking blew the house down when I saw him. There's a difference though when he's not feeling like it.

I wonder what his current band would do if something like that happened today. Play a Pet Sounds instrumental perhaps?

During the BW On Tour doc, they say something along the lines of 'If he runs off, we'll just carry on playing as if nothing happened'.

My own opinions of Mike don't stem from Leaf or any of his journalistic descendents, but from things uttered from the mouth of Mike himself.  I'm sure he has some good qualities, but most or many of his own speeches do him incredible disservice.  The one time I met him, he said almost nothing, which was a blessed relief.

And as someone who has himself suffered from depression, I'm incredibly grateful for any of the prodding I received at the time.  Believe me, it is a fantastic help, and shows great caring.  Brian is likely very lucky to have such care around him.

"Let's Go Away For Awhile," maybe?

zing  ;D

Yep. And let's not kid ourselves: there is no chance they don't have contingency plans for that happening, even now after all these years of him not bailing. Hell, even when he is there, somebody is almost always doubling him. If he bailed during a show, the primary change would be that the vocals would be in tune.

Post 2/20/04, I asked Darian if there was a plan B should Brian not come out after the interval: he grinned and said "yeah, we'd play it anyway, we figure at least 70% of the audience would realise what happened, and the other 30% probably wouldn't notice".

I think the latter part was a joke...  :)

Question: Is it that Brian doesn't like basically meeting the same old fan every time(*gasp* Brian doesn't love his fans?!?!?), or is it just the general idea of meeting new, unfamiliar people?

The latter.

Maybe if we all bring him cocaine, heroin, birthday cake, and steaks, he'll take to us right away. :)

why do we joke about another human being's sorrow?

Hey now!

I think he's just kidding

Plus, I don't think Brian would be that sorrowful if that happened; it'd be the rest of us.

Because we too are human.

I wonder if Brian bailing or freaking out has ever come close to actually happening during these solo tours.  I recall reading on this very message board that one time he tried to take a nap during the middle of a song.  That must have been uncomfortable. 

When Brian appered at the fans get together in Sydney in '08 some of the girls organised a great big chocolate cake for the big fella. He politely declined eating the cake explaining that he was "borderline biabetic" ... although he did manage to stick his fingers in the icing and get a litte taste ...



... and what became of the cake?



Well, it was taken out the back where two fans carefully swabbed the fingerprints removing and preserving all DNA for future reference ..... or other use ...   >:D


There's nothing spooky about Brian Wilson fans!!

Is he being serious about the borderline diabetic thing, or was that just an excuse? Kinda scary ???

Hook 'em up with some sugar free cake.

Serious.

it's coming along nicely - crossed with a chicken has been the best result so far.

It's not surprising that Brian is borderline diabetic. In fact, it's shocking that he doesn't have more serious health problems related to his heart, his liver... and everything else.

I recall reading a story about a fan who brought him chocolate-covered pretzels, only to have Brian refuse them, saying he was trying to control his diet. To me, it's like: Don't bring Brian junk food. That's like bringing pills to a drug addict. As far as Brian's state of mind goes, the best I ever saw him was (1) in some George Martin special from the 90s. Brian sits at his piano and describes his songwriting process with more passion than I've ever seen from him. Quiet, subtle passion rather than fake enthusiasm. He talks about the music coming from his soul. And (2) In the documentary about Rodney Bingenheimer, on one of the bonuses. Brian is very at ease and seems very much like his 60s self. I believe he's talking to Elvis Costello.

Here's the clip from the George Martin thing:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x9z8xHkSMdo

:lol These are very carefully planned stunts discussed by blue boarderes at their pre concert meet ups  ;D

Lot of effort put in

I think he is in good form here because he is talking to a musical equal rather than a interviewer asking the same questions he has heard a million times. That gets the yes/ no one word response.

That's a good observation...I think he's most engaged when talking to someone who is really interested in the music, as opposed to his personal problems over the years.

Well, yeah. There are times when he's engaged, and getting back to the original topic, maybe Melinda feels that to keep him engaged, he needs to be around musicians, playing music, getting feedback, getting praise, etc.

Has anyone here ever seen the interview he did with CBC's (Canada) Peter Mansbridge about 4 years ago? rian was quite engaged and even stopped to point and say "YOU, are a good interviewer." I have this recorded on VHS in my files but haven't had an opportunity to make it digital and upload it.

http://www.dd-rd.ca/site/_media/files/CBC_ca%20-%20Mansbridge%20One%20on%20One.htm

Great answer.

I also think we should never lose sight of the fact that, for good or evil, we are picking over a guy's personal life, and in this thread, his marriage, on a (shudder) message board in public. Thank God none of us are interested in my life! Including me.

Bottom line: Melinda Wilson runs Brian's life and career now, so she has claws and long yellow fangs. Murry & Melinda, Landy & Leaf, they all wear the black hat and shoot people in the back in the great western saga that is Brian Wilson's personal and artistic life.

I don't know much about Melinda's ups and downs, but she won me over years ago when she weighed in- on a (shudder) message board- on the constant touring.  She pointed out that it's not a cash cow for anyone, and that in fact, it purportedly loses money at times.  She said that the worst thing Brian could do is just sit around.  That made sense to me. Then she actually delved into his specific medication, in great detail.  I don't know if she does her job perfectly or always makes the best decisions, but I know it's a pretty damned tough job, and I'm glad she takes care of the guy for us. 

I stood next to her during the second night of the Roxy shows in 2000, and I thought about thanking her for what she does for Brian.  I decided to thank her by leaving her alone to talk with her friend.  I can't imagine what life is like in her shoes so even if she puts Brian with Jimmy Buffet again I'll try not to judge too harshly. At this point, I don't need anything else from Brian Wilson musically. I just want him to be healthy and happy and maybe I can hope he at least partly understands how deeply he's loved and appreciated.

Oh my god, thank you so much for posting this - it is a fantastic interview, I've just watched the whole thing with a smile on my face. The interviewer has a really easy, warm engaging way about him and I'm sure this is why Brian is responding so well to him. It was David Leaf that said that Brian is so sensitive that negative vibes for him are magnified a thousand times (or something like that).  It is a sign that he is so comfortable that he says to the interviewer, that's enough of that, let's talk about something different, he probably thinks this in most interviews but doesn't feel comfortable enough to say it. I find Brian absolutely adorable! 

wow, that's a fantastic interview.

Thanks so much! It's odd, he doesn't really stray from the usual subjects though, which makes it surprising.

Also revealing to the people going on about the touring thing - he calls it 'fun work'

Ugh, he was still talking about the rock and roll album in 2004! He already wrote five songs! What is he waiting for?!

Don't the titles he mentions sound quite 'Love You' esque, or is it just me? Makes sense that if it's like that why a) he's been talking it up for 5 years and b) maybe why it hasn't been released yet?  >:(

The interview won't play for me for no apparent reason.

'

try this link: http://www.cbc.ca/toronto/medialauncher/mediawindow_mansbridge.html?mediatype=QuickTimeCheckedOut&filelocation=/clips/Toronto/mov/brian-wilson-041008.mov&title=Peter%20Mansbridge%20interviews%20Brian%20Wilson

Thanks so much for posting this Joe.  That was one of the best Brian interviews I've ever seen.

Regarding "Good Vibrations" ending BWPS per Brian: "It was my wife's idea to end the album with that song."

Interesting....

He's said that a million times, even specifically about GV on BWPS. i guess the idea was to end BWPS with a bang, so it came off well in the live performance.

I must've missed the other 999,999 times, because I never heard it mentioned that it was Melinda's idea to FINISH the album with "Good Vibrations".

Things keep changing, Amy. First, I was guilty of thinking that Darian mainly sequenced the album. Then, I was told, over and over, how involved Brian was in BWPS, and that I was shortchanging his input. Now, I'm corrected by Brian! All along it was Melinda who was sequencing songs, too.

I know I heard it somewhere. Maybe it was once, rather than a million, and I read or saw the interview more than once.  Believe it or not, Sheriff, I don't spend my hours plotting ways to prove you wrong. I was just talking. I didn't even notice who I was replying to. You know more than I do about this stuff, okay? In fact, I know nothing. I only speculate, based on what I remember, and my memory is nearly always faulty. So there you go. Now I have a broken toe, so go easy on me.

I'm sure in actuality it was a two way process with Melinda and Darian. 2 cents in the bucket and probably wrong, but ob la de....

No problem, Amy. You know how sensitive I get over SMiLE/BWPS, I can't help it....Love your posts BTW.

Okay, here's my bad memory acting up again. I might have suggested this before. But seeing as we seem to have these conversations ad nauseum (although they are fun), why don't you and AGD and a few other Smiley Smilers write an Obsessive's Guide to BWPS? Instead of one theory, you'd throw all of them in there, about everything. You could have all the unanswered questions in there. Who sequenced it? Whose idea was it? Did Brian enjoy the rehearsals? Should Darian have used a real harpsicord? And you could put all of Brian's different (contradictory) quotes next to each theory to support each idea. It would be a fascinating, time-consuming Web site, for reader and creators alike.

What are you, Amy, some kind of masochist? >:D

I'm not volunteering to write this thing! I'm not remotely qualified anyway.

GIOMH was more Melinda, BWPS was more Darian. She may have suggested it end with GV, but Brian may be getting the two albums confused (not musically, just who prodded him more on which album).



There was already released a book like that a couple of years ago.

(DP knows I'm kidding) :lol

I think Brian married the wrong person!

lol

(http://www.noooz.com/Homey%20the%20Clown.png)

"Homey don't play that."

*smacks forehead*

:lol   Never thought I'd see In Living Color referenced on the board.

 :lol :lol